Quote:
Originally posted by darkure
Thank you for your thorough answer. I am a noob at all of this so I wasn't quite sure. I started reading the forums several days ago and I will check out IRC. Since I don't chat much I tend to forget about it.
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Cool. I cannot stress this enough though, if you're a newbie do not start out with Gentoo or Debian unless you REALLY have a deep interest in jumping into the deep end head first when it comes to learning Linux.
If you do, that's awesome, but know that with Gentoo and Debian there is a very minimal amount of hand holding - and I mean MINIMAL.
Also, with Gentoo, just in case you're not aware, it compiles everything from source - which a lot of people like and a lot of people don't. I do. However, doing a stage 1 install (the longest, but most optimized for your computer) it took, I'm guessing, about 8 hours or so on my 1.4 Athlon-TBird processor. Then, of course, I had to compile X Windows and KDE (my desktop environment of choice) which took a total of, if I remember corectly, somewhere around 15 hours. Take into consideration that you're probably not going to stare at the computer the whole time and be there to start one thing immediately after the other, it took me about 2 days to get everything compiled and set up.
Now, you can do a stage 3 install which will have your system less optimized, but will shave down the base installation (before the desktop environment) to a much shorter time. Still, X and KDE will take 15 hours (I started it before going to bed on night)
The benefit of all this (especially a stage 1 installation)? Well, when you do it right (if you're well prepared and know the things you need to know about your hardware, the installation process, etc, you should be fine) then you end up with a system that is completely optimized to your system and that, for over 41000+ packages, all you need to do to download the source, compile, and install something is type "emerge packagename"
When it comes to being prepared, since it seems you've never installed Linux before, I HIGHLY recommend searching for and/or asking in the Gentoo forums what things you'll need to know in advance to install a Gentoo desktop system.
Now, if it sounds like I'm trying to scare you away, it's because I am. Not because I don't want you to try Gentoo or that I don't think someone new to Linux can handle it, but because if you read all this and say "ok, that's fine, it'll be fun to work hord and learn a lot about Linux and compile my system from source" then you have the right attitude to try it. If you read all this and say "wow, that's really scary, I don't know if I can handle all that responsibility and learning the intimate knowledge I need to know in order to install and run a distribution like Gentoo" then you should reconsider what distribution you're starting with.
The same goes for Debian - the install is MUCH shorter, but the knowledge needed is not much different (and it lacks portage).
So, if you're reconsidering what distribution to start out with then I suggest Mandrake Linux. It's the distribution I started out with as well. Now, I would never go back - distributions like Gentoo give you MUCH more freedom and, in my experience, just plain work better than distributions like Mandrake that do a lot more hand-holding. BUT, distributions like Mandrake are really good for getting yourself acquainted with the Linux environment.
If you're not reconsidering and still want to give Gentoo and Debian a try, then I wish you the best of luck - it's a lot of fun if you're willing to go through the process of learning a LOT of new things.
Either way, if you have a friend who knows Linux, definitely use them as a resource - I know I use mine a lot. Also feel free to post here as there are people who are willing to help as well and, if you want to ask me any questions directly, you can find my AIM screenname in my profile.
A few TFP links that may prove useful for you:
<a href="http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4170">ATTENTION: "Why Linux is Not for You: The Lengthy Rebuttal of a Linux User"</a>
<a href="http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3328">Linux Professional Institute Certification Prep</a>
<a href="http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?s=&threadid=203">Top Linux Downloads</a>